Friday, December 14, 2012

Lunatics with guns piss me off. Lunatics with guns who feel that it's somehow necessary or fun or their duty in life to indiscriminately kill complete strangers that they've never met and that have never done anything to deserve to be shot to death. Thanks to our pretty much instant news cycle, we find out about way too many of these crazy people with guns going on shooting sprees and mowing down completely innocent people. We hear and see way too many graphic details about these senseless acts of violence and then, thanks to the blood-sucking vultures calling themselves reporters, we get to see every single angle and backstory painfully dissected and examined. Victims and victims' family members get cameras and microphones shoved in their faces all for the sake of ratings and sensationalism. So, yeah, I guess the news media pisses me off just as much as lunatics with guns.

And then there's everyone else... on Twitter... on Facebook... who feel it necessary to voice their opinions and substantiate their beliefs by single-handedly identifying the one single person or thing or policy that is to blame for the tragedy of the week. Like this morning's tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut where another lunatic with a gun barged into an elementary school and killed 28 people -20 of them young children. Moments after reading everyone's Facebook posts extending prayers and sympathy for the victims, the debates start. Foolish statements like "If guns were illegal, this would have never happened!" or "If the teachers were armed, they could've stopped this lunatic!" or "If the school had a security guard, he could've killed the shooter as he entered the building!" Really?! How the fuck do you know what WOULD'VE happened if the circumstances were different? You DON'T! You CAN'T!

This is some frightening shit, ladies and gentlemen. I'm always saying to my wife, "Honey, we're surrounded by idiots." We are. I wish I were joking, but it really isn't that funny. The really scary thing is a lot of these idiots also fall into the "lunatic" category. It's a little unnerving when you realize that any one (or two or three) of the people you randomly come in contact with every day could be that next "lunatic" who picks up a gun or makes a bomb, or goes on a stabbing spree. Just how the hell are we supposed to easily mitigate that kind of risk? We have to do SOMETHING. It'd be nice to chalk it up to a "random act of violence" and move on, but when these random acts of violence start reoccurring with uncomfortable frequency, we can't just sit by and idly wait for the next lunatic to come unhinged. With each new tragedy, we become more saddened, more angry, and (hopefully) more determined to do something about it. But singling out one thing -one issue- and lumping all the blame there is just plain idiotic. Stop it, will ya?! There are no easy answers or solutions when it comes to finding better ways to protect innocent people from lunatics with guns. It'd be awesome if just making gun ownership illegal would solve the whole problem, but it won't. We're at a point in our evolution/history now that anyone who REALLY wants a gun will GET a gun; one way or another. Legally or illegally. And if a person wants to make a bomb and level an office building, they WILL make a bomb. One way or another. So simply putting a ban on all gun ownership, isn't going to fix the problem. Perhaps it would mitigate some of the risk -maybe- but it isn't "THE ANSWER". Just like those who say "Every citizen should have a gun and know how to use it!" -wow, that is SO not the answer either.

Personally, I never felt the need to have a gun. I'm not saying that wouldn't change if I were the victim of a home invasion or other violent crime. I'm sure the thought would cross my mind "gee, if I would've had a gun..." But, so far, after 40 some years of life - eight of which was spent in the Army where I got to fire guns and other weapons on a regular basis- I've never found myself longing to own a gun and exercise my right to bear arms. But hey, that's just me. You want to own a handgun to protect yourself or your family - OK, I can see that. You want to own a couple hunting rifles because you're an avid hunter? OK. You want to own a couple AK-47s and AR-15 semi-automatic assault rifles? Um, why? That, I don't quite get. Fine, you're a gun freak and you love to shoot. OK. Then go to a firing range and rent an assault rifle for an hour and fire away. I think when our forefathers included "the right to bear arms" times were a little bit different than they are today and I don't think they were foreseeing folks owning machine guns or RPGs. I'd like to think they were just trying to point out that we all have the right to defend ourselves. I know plenty of folks will disagree with that interpretation. Fine.

Moving past the issue of gun control, there are many other angles to look at if we want to stop lunatics killing innocent folks. I don't think we can ever truly prevent something like this from ever happening again. Sadly, that's the world we live in. But there are a lot of other things we can do -new policies, new procedures, new studies, new laws- besides wasting time arguing back and forth on emotionally charged issues. Let's take all that passion and energy and use it to apply logic, objectivity, and understanding to this problem and come up with a multi-pronged approach to do as much as possible to avoid these types of tragedies in the future.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

I'm not a fan of Michael Vick. I never really paid much attention to the guy before all the dog fighting details came out.And after hearing all that and seeing how he tried to deny his culpability for so long, well let's just say I really wasn't a fan then.I was angered by his actions and his unwillingness to own up to those actions so I was also very glad that he was exposed for what he was: a cold, ruthless abuser and killer of innocent animals -and a liar and a coward.Listening to him speak and watching the way he presented himself, I could also tell right away that we weren't dealing with a very intellectual individual here.Had it not been for his athletic abilities, I doubt Michael Vick would've done anything of much importance or value with his life. I mean, here's a guy who had a multi-million-dollar NFL contract and what did he choose to invest his money in?Illegal dog fighting. Really?Wow. Obviously the guy is not a Rhodes Scholar nor will he win any Boy Scout Character awards.

Let's face it, Michael Vick probably didn't have very good role models growing up. Not that I know anything about his youth or his parents, but I'd be willing to bet his early formative years played a large role in how he ended up as an adult.I don’t think Bad Newz Kennels was the work of an otherwise morally sound upstanding citizen who made an oversight in judgement or slipped up and made a bad decision.No, dog fighting -and the horrific abuse used to train the dogs- was just an everyday fact of life for Michael Vick.Just like thrusting a bunch of sharp spears in the spine of a bull is considered normal to fans of bull fighting.It's just the way it was.Michael Vikc and his relatives and friends grew up with the notion that dog fighting was cool and violence was normal.To the rest of us, that might sound crazy and unbelievable, but it's very easy to become accustomed to something as barbaric as dog fighting when you're exposed to it starting when you're 8 years old.

Furthermore, had Michael Vick been able to escape the whole scandal unscathed, I doubt it would've changed his heart and his mind when it came to fighting pit bulls.He probably would've chuckled and gloated in the fact that he got away with something.But he didn't.For all wiggling, lying, and back-stepping, Michael Vick could not escape the truth. And while many will argue that his punishment was not nearly harsh enough, he was punished and he did pay a heavy price for his actions. Every day in this country hardened criminals, murderers, and rapists end up getting off easy because of loopholes in our legal system and restrictions on sentencing.How many stories have you read about a serial rapist being set free only to end up raping someone else.Our legal system has many shortcomings and oversights.But that can't be blamed on Michael Vick.His lawyers did what any competent legal team would do; they tried to get Michael the best deal possible under the circumstances.And, likewise, the Government was trying to do the same thing for their side -get the best deal possible.

The bottom line is, despite a lot of people thinking he should have been put to death for what he did, Michael Vick didn't just get a small fine and a slap on the wrist.He did some serious jail time -nearly 2 years- and in the process he lost his job and all his endorsement deals. He ended up bankrupt. At the end of 2006, Sports Illustrated magazine had estimated Vick's annual income between his NFL salary and endorsements at $25.4 million.Just over a year later in July of 2008, Vick sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection -his finances were in such disarray that a trustee had to be appointed by the court to oversee the whole mess.So when you take all that into consideration, it's a bit of a stretch for me to agree with the folks who say he got off easy.

I guess the real salt in the wound for all the die-hard Michael Vick haters out there is the fact that he was able to get his life back after all of that. There's a lot of people that think he should have been barred for life from the NFL.Maybe so.But he really wasn't given any special treatment or hero's welcome back. He took another shot and it worked out for him.As I've stated before, Michael Vick isn't known for his intelligence but he's obviously a naturally gifted athlete. So, if I were Michael Vick coming out of jail, looking to take my best shot at getting some semblance of a normal life back, where do you think I'd look first? Exactly where he did -the NFL.It's all the guy knew how to do besides run an illegal dog fighting business (and we all saw how THAT endeavour turned out).

I don't want to argue about whether Michael Vick is a changed man or whether he's truly sorry for all he's done. There's so many reports, rumors, and spun-up bullshit out there on the internet, it's hard for me to conclude anything about what Michael Vick the person actually feels inside his heart and soul about all this.I really don't care. I think he deserved every bad thing that happened to him and, regardless how some people fear this, no one is ever going to forget what he did. Ever. That's always going to be a part of his history now. As it should be. If he didn't really truly learn his lesson from all this -and if he didn't experience a spiritual growth and change of heart well, at the very least, he's doing a decent job at pretending he did. He's accepted responsibility for what he did and he's apologized. Is he sincere?I hope so, but who can say for sure.

Whether or not he's sincere, I really can't fault the guy for going back and trying to do what he does best; play football.He's obviously still very gifted at the game and he's been able to gain some respect these days from his teammates and fellow players.He's making good money again and he's even endorsed by Nike along with coming out with his own clothing line. None of that redemption was handed to him on a silver platter.He had to work to get it back.Keep in mind too that a sizeable portion of the money Michael Vick earns will end up going to various charities (in addition to paying off lots of legal-related bills lawsuits) for years and years to come. He's also lobbied for H.R. 2492, the Animal Fighting Spectator Prohibition Act, which would establish federal misdemeanor penalties against convicted spectators of illegal animal fighting and make it a felony for adults to bring children to fights. He founded Team Vick Foundation, a non-profit, 501c3 charity to provide second chances and support to individuals and communities who need it most. He also lived up to his pledge to become an advocate for animal welfare and has appeared in public service announcements for the Humane Society.This all begs the question what more does the guy have to do in order for people to just move the hell on.I don't want you to join the Michael Vick fan club or recommend him for sainthood, just stop spewing this non-stop hate campaign against the guy. It's NOT doing anyone any good. Really.If you vehemently hate Michael Vick and want him dead for all the horrible crimes he committed against dogs, I'm pretty sure you're going to go to your grave feeling that way. To me, that's a little sad, but certainly your prerogative.Likewise, if you're a Michael Vick fan and/or one of the many (there's more than you think) people out there who just don't see the big deal with dog fighting, you're not likely to change your opinion of the guy based on the words of a bunch of hate-filled wackos constantly shouting at the top of their lungs.And for all the middle-of-the-road folks -the ones who may not follow football or care too much about animal rights- all this hate is probably just a tad tiring and embarrassing.

It embarrasses me to a point because I am a self-proclaimed animal lover -dogs especially.They're an official member of my family and I'd do everything I could to keep them healthy, happy and safe. We have three dogs -two of them pit bull mixes- and we're fostering a fourth (also a pit bull). All our dogs were rescues and I value their sincere friendship and loyalty and truly place them above some humans that I know.I don't understand how anyone could purposely abuse such an animal. It sickens and disgusts me and I think there ought to be much tougher laws and penalties for animal abusers.Along with that, there needs to me more education -starting from childhood- on what it means to be a responsible pet owner.

I think the people who view their pets as disposable pieces of property ought to be smacked up side of their heads and held accountable for the life they would so easily cast aside.In short, there's a lot of positive things we, as animal/dog-lovers, can do to make this world a better place for dogs and humans alike.There are already millions of people around the country -and the world- who tirelessly fight to save the lives of endangered and abused animals and I think their service to humanity as a whole is priceless.But despite all of their efforts, we still have a huge problem of humans taking advantage of animals.We're at the top of the food chain and a lot of us feel entitled to do whatever the hell we want with the lesser advanced beings we share this earth with. It's a sad fact of who we are as a race. But rather than sit around and feel sad and helpess, it's good to know that one person can, indeed, make a difference.The key is to focus all our efforts towards positive goals.

Sorry, but in my opinion, constantly posting Michael Vick Hate Ads on Facebook or carrying "Boycott Michael Vick" signs outside of Lincoln Financial Field (Eagles'Stadium) isn't doing anyone -including your cause- any good. You're focusing on hate and recycling gruesome pictures and reminding us all of how evil mankind can be.You're wasting a good portion of your time, energy, and heart towards spreading hate with no real pay-off in the end.If all the Michael Vick haters would just focus that energy elsewhere, they'd probably feel a whole lot better and get more accomplished.

Think Michael Vick should have been barred for life from the NFL? Then bring your case before the powers-that-be in the NFL.

As human beings, we're all capable of doing some horrendous things. But what sets us apart from most of the other animals on the planet is our advanced ability to reason and adapt and evolve.Because of that ability, we're also capable of some astoundingly awesome achievements.We've got enough hate and violence and despair in the world right now.What we're lacking as a race is love, tolerance, and forgiveness.

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

The way to get America back on track is simple, but painful. We have to start back at square one; the Constitution of the United States. It's a perfect foundational cornerstone upon which to rebuild the nation. Everything else in our current Government has to be honestly re-evaluated and reworked. The size and complexity of the government has to be whittled down to a more manageable system that is equitable to everyone. We have to come up with list of priorities for the nation that are set in stone, adhered to, and worked towards -no exceptions. The constitution was created 225 years ago and, despite its age, the ideals and principles that are found inside -along with the many amendments over the years- are still valid for all of us as a nation. However, the way in which we implement the constitution is in need of a major upgrage. There were no cars, airplanes, or computers back in 1787. Communication and travel over great distances was cumbersome and time-consuming. The level of education of the average American was nothing close to what it is today. Back then, we needed a way to make the government work for everyone. We did this through the idea of a few representing the many (i.e., Congress and the Senate). The Electoral College was implemented in an attempt to make voting fair for all the states -and make the voting process as quick as possible.

Our current Government doesn't work. It's broke. The entire country is broke. We're the victims of decades full of ineptness, ignorance, and -most of all- greed. Our current government benefits the rich and ignores the poor, the indigant, and the sick. Our current government runs on backroom deals and special interest payoffs and is completely controlled the dual Democratic and Republican junta. These two political parties control EVERYTHING in the country and they do a really shitty job at it. That's because most of their time is spent arguing with each other while each is scheming new ways to control more of the money and power. While members of both parties are completely inept at running a county - a majority of them can't even balance their checkbook- they are highly skilled at making money, hiding money, and deceiving the general public. They are totally out of touch and damn near oblivious to what the average American is dealing with as a result of their mismanagement and greed. The important things to them are money and power -the two go hand in hand. A lot of what goes on in Washington is outright criminal in nature but these criminals know how to cover their tracks. They take turns shifting the blame and promising a new tomorrow while the rest of us -the so-called 99%- continue to be bled dry. And -lucky them!- most of us continue -decade after decade- to believe and/or accept the same recycled bullshit. Why? Are we all that low on common sense that we can't see that things are getting progressively worse, year after year? Our way of government is OUT-DATED, BROKEN, CORRUPT. We need to fix it by starting back at square one.

First of all, we no longer need SO many politicians to run things. We have technology on our side now. 200 years ago there was a valid reason for having representatives in Washington, D.C. for every state and territory. Now? Why? Why can't we, with the help of today's technology take an active role in representing ourselves? Why do I have to depend on some elected dickhead to hear my tiny voice and trust him to carry it all the way to Washington. How friggin' STUPID is that -when I can now click a few keys and connect directly to the White House web site and communicate directly with the president and tell him what I think? Congressmen, Senators, Councilmen, Delegates, County Executives... the list goes on and on and on. Do we REALLY need all these people on the Government's payroll? Are they REALLY making anything better?

How about voting? I'd sure like to have more than two choices every four years for President. Almost all elections are controlled by the two major parties; the Democrats and the Republicans. It's obvious that neither party has the answers. I mean, c'mon and WAKE UP people - these two groups have been COMPLETELY IN CONTROL of the country for the last 150 years or so. Nothing has gotten better -almost everything has gotten worse. Millions upon Millions of dollars are raised and spent by the Repulicans and Democrats during each general election. For what? To get their guy elected to a job with a base salary of $400,000 a year. That's like me raising and spending $100,000 to land a job at Burger King. The plain fact of the matter is that the party who has their guy in the White House gets to control more of ALL THE MONEY IN COUNTRY. That's why there's MILLIONS spent to get that job. It's all about power and control of unimaginable sums of money. Money that's used to pay of other governments and other politicians and make everyone in Washington that much richer.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, here we are. The 'ordinary' folks. The Middle Class, Lower-Middle Class, and the extremely poor. Half of us continue to swallow the bullshit fed to us by the politicians while the other half of us are so fed up and despondent, we really don't give a rat's ass what they say. We all can agree on one thing though: things are bad; the worst they've ever been. A lot of us still complain and a few of actually try to effect positive changes, but the system is rigged so much in the favor of the fat, greedy politicians, there's very little hope of any real change happening as long as the current system of government remains in place. That's the first major hurdle.

The second hurdle and utmost priority is to take care of our own. How can we send BILLIONS of dollars overseas to 2nd- and 3rd-world countries when we have up to a MILLION HOMELESS AMERICANS and another couple million living at or below the poverty level. That'd be like me giving food and money to my next-door neighbor while my wife and kids were starving in my own house. How can we help anyone else when we can't even help ourselves? My heart goes out to all the starving and sick people worldwide, but we need to get our priorities in order. We take care of our own FIRST. Doing so will only serve to strengthen us as a nation and will eventually enable us to extend that help outside of our border. But we have to get our own house in order first.

Once we elimanate the homelessness and extreme poverty here in America, the next step is to eliminate the national debt. Again, this is basic common sense. How in the hell can you be over $15,630,961,878,404 (that's 15 TRILLION, y'all!) in debt and still be spending billions on budgets and appropriations and send billions abroad? Where's this money coming from?! Once I'm out of money -and credit- as a person, I'm done until I either (a) make more money or (b) pay off my credit card. And if I fail to pay a debt, the consequences are swift and painful. Not so though for the Government. Why? Why should it be any different? Especially when you take into consideration that the money that they're spending (and obviously mismanaging) in Washington is coming from all us taxpayers. And we don't have a choice to say "No more, Dumb-ass! You can't have any more of my money until you learn how to manage it wisely and honestly!" Hell, if we don't pay our taxes, we go to jail. But all the politicians are free to mismanage and steal that money without any risk of losing their job, let alone going to jail. That's just friggin' ludicrous to me. You get hired to do a job that you end up sucking at -in the real world what happens? YOU GET FIRED. Not so when it comes to our elected officials.

Along with taking care of homelessness, poverty, and the national debt, we need to reevaluate our foreign relations with all the countries we're currently "doing business" with. Most of the "deals" that are in place now are the backroom type. You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours. Most are NOT in the best interest of the American people as a whole. They are designed to benefit the greedy government officials on both sides that came up with the deals. We were not protecting our national interests when we invaded Iraq. Let's be honest - we were in a post-9/11 hysteria bent on revenge and justice. Somebody had to pay! And since we couldn't put our hands on Osama Bin Laden, and everyone else directly responsible for the terrorist attacks died in the attacks, Saddam Hussein seemed like the next best target. Like we really gave a shit about the the people of Iraq. C'mon, Saddam was killing and torturing them for DECADES before he became a thorn in our side. No, the flip side for us was the oil. More money to line the pockets of politicians. But I digress. The point is, we need to stop playing Policeman to the World and focus squarely on our own country. Sure, it's important to develop strong ties internationally, but not at the cost of our own country's resources -our money, our lives. We can't be sending billions of dollars overseas when we have people starving and homeless here. THAT MAKES ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE!!

Many will argue that what I suggest is an over-simplified solution and one that is impossible to implement. I say the biggest hurdle is ourselves and our apathy, laziness, ignorance, and -in some cases- stupidity. We're all willing to bitch and complain but very few of us are willing to take action. And, let's face it, dislodging this corrupt and gluttonous government would be a long, painful, uphill battle. There's a lot of us who can't see the forest for the trees -who still think our current form of government is working just fine. Those are the folks I really fear. Those are the folks our current elected officials love.

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

People tend to get caught up in semantics when it comes to this issue of legalizing gay marriage. A majority of religious folks will quote bible verses to support their stance that gay marriage -and the whole idea of being gay for that matter- is wrong and against everything that God intended. I have no problem agreeing with that. A majority of liberals -and most anyone who identifies themselves as gay, lesbian, bisexual, etc.- wants equal rights under the constitution and laws of the United States which include the right to be legally 'married' and have access to all the same legal rights as a traditional man-woman marriage would have. I also have no problem agreeing with that.

The very simple solution to this whole mess is in the word "marriage" and what that means to religious people versus what it means in a legal sense. So, for the sake of all the holier-than-thou religious people of the world who have taken it upon themselves to pass God's judgement on everyone and anyone who doesn't strictly adhere to their version of religion, just change the damn word from "marriage" to something less inflammatory like "legal domestic partnership". If you're gay, fine; you can call yourself "married" to your partner, but as far as the law is concerned -and for the sake of all religious zealots- just make two legally-defined terms. They can both entail the same legal rights, just call them different things so we can keep the traditional term of "marriage" for a man and a woman. That should satisfy everyone. If it doesn't then both sides are being way too picky.

I'm straight. At least -after 40+ years of life, I'm pretty darn sure I'm straight. The idea of being sexually attracted to another man kind of makes my skin crawl a little bit. I can't imagine passionately kissing another guy or being intimate -in most any sense of the word- with another guy. But I do have friends that are gay and it's obvious there's a lot (millions and millions) of people in the world who are attracted -sexually and emotionally- to the same sex. That's a fact, Jack. No way around it. So while I can't understand the attraction, I have to concede -based on everything I've seen, read, and witnessed- that being 'gay' is just the way some folks are born. They're wired differently. But just because they're different, doesn't mean we can't all get along or at least tolerate each in this great big world. You can't catch 'gay'-it's not an affliction- and you can't be raised to be 'gay' -at least that's what I believe. I'm not afraid of gay people taking over the world and making everyone else gay -that's ridiculous and impossible.

According to the laws of nature and those of most popular religions, man was made to mate with woman and vice versa. This is how new humans are created. If everyone were gay, eventually the human race would perish -there'd be no new babies made. Luckily, there's plenty of us guys who are constantly seeking sex with women and there are plenty of women out there seeking -or, at the very least- allowing sex with men. I believe -based on a lot of scientific evidence- that's the way it is meant to be. I would consider having sex with another man unnatural. I'm positive there are -and always will be- millions of other guys just like me. Accepting gay people and couples as upstanding, contributing members of society does not spell the end of morality or the human race as we know it. Quite to the contrary, it shows our ability to adapt and evolve in an ever-changing world.

Everyone has their own opinions and beliefs. To me, as long as your opinions and beliefs don't infringe upon my well-being or way of life, more power to you! I may not agree with you, but I will certainly tolerate you -so long as you don't try to make YOUR beliefs MY beliefs.

Which brings us to this whole thing with Chick-fil-A that has just gotten WAY out of hand. Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy spoke up a week or so ago and said that Chick-fil-A supports the traditional family unit of a man and a woman constituting a marriage. Since Mr. Cathy and, I assume, a lot of the other higher-up folks who run Chick-fil-A is a christian, I don't find his statement all that shocking. While I think it's kinda sad that Chick-fil-A has reportedly spent around $5 million to support groups trying to block gay marriage, it's certainly within their right to do so. There are MANY people -the majority of them citing religion as a basis- who are opposed to gay marriage. Fine. That's their opinion. And if they feel it's worthwhile to throw millions of dollars at the issue to try to get the rest of America to see thing their way, more power to them. The reality is that's never going to happen.

We're always going to have a certain number of people opposed to gay marriage and a certain number of people that support it. But now everyone on the pro-gay-marriage side of the fence wants you to boycott Chick-fil-A. Why? Have Chick-fil-A restaurants ever discriminated against gay customers? No. Have they ever come out and said "Gays not welcome here!"? Uh, no. Is everyone that works for Chick-fil-A anti-gay? Hell no! But it just so happens that the company's owner -Mr. Cathy is a devout Christian and has gone on record stating his belief that marriage is between a man and a woman. Fine. I don't see how that belief suddenly makes eating at Chick-fil-A evil. OK, so they use some of their profits to fight against gay marriage. That's not very shocking now is it. So I supposed if you're so vehemently in favor of gay marriage and you're determine get the whole world in your corner, not eating at Chick-fil-A will give you the satisfaction of knowing that none of your hard-earned money will be used against your cause. But, let me say this again: we're NEVER going to get to the point in this country where EVERYONE agrees on gay marriage.

Lots of people are too caught up in a fight over the term "marriage". We've already covered that in the beginning of this post. Call me middle-of -the-road or on-the-fence, but I'm quite content to let fanatics on both sides slug it out. Meanwhile, I'll try to treat everyone equally, regardless of the sexual preference or their opinions. And, as long as everyone else that I come in contact with can try to afford me that same courtesy, we should all get along just fine.